User blog:Leolab/User Siege Tourney, Round 24 of 63: Redkite (Markus) v Leolab (Lloyd)
Markus Thaowan: The Great Captain from Asaea Attacking Lloyd Kumar: The mercenary Great Captain from India Prologue “Evans’ host doesn't like him,” Lloyd says. The very last thing he thought he'd be doing today was talking casually with Leo. When he wasn't trying to mess with his head, though, his host was fairly good company. “Yes... most of the generals that aren’t doing too well have hosts that are irritated,” Leo says, “Except for Austonio and Drayco. I think he just put Austonio in to see if his particular brand of insanity is infectious.” “Kenway’s doing fairly well, though his host seems irritated.” “He didn't know Kenway was a drunk. He hides it well outside of an actual siege environment.” “And why is he glaring at you every once in a while?” “Because I didn’t tell him.” “Yao and his host seem silent; it’s not that they’re avoiding each other, it’s like his host isn’t even there.” “Yeah, ST hasn't been here much lately. Yao’s going to go the same way as Billybob.” Attacker Symbol = |-| General = Weapons and Armour: Main: Steel Short Sword Wooden Pike with Metal Tip Wooden and Metal Bow and Arrow Mutli-layered Wood and Metal Tower Shields Armour: Chain-mail Undercoat covered by Steel Plate Armour (Equipped by all troops) Single Combat accepted |-| Army = Armour: Chain-mail Undercoat covered by Steel Plate Armour (Equipped by all troops) Tactics: Keeping moral high was a essential factor Markus recognised. To do this, he made sure tactics were in place to smash enemies and make sure victory was ensured. Soldiers were taught two basic tactics that needed to be performed in battle and troops were always taught to stay together. The standard structure for troops is for Archers remain in the centre or at the back, followed by pikemen then swordsmen. Pikemen and Swordsmen must maintain shields. 1, The first tactic is the pincer formation. In the event that overwhelming enemy forces are due, infantry should move around to shape a pincer to confront enemy forces, in the centre of the pincer should expand pikemen will form into a line and advanced outward of the pincer to eventually form a cirle defended by pikemen and swordsmen. In the core of the pincer archers will bombard enemy forces also. 2, The second tactic is the line formation. In the event that enemy forces overwhelm friendly troops. A line comprised of the swordsmen and pikemen prioritising the usage of their shields will form, the line will aim to have swordsmen and pikemen face the enemy so a suitable retreat can occur but additional swordsmen and pikemen will manage the edge of the back. Behind the line of swords and pikemen archers will form waves of arrows by two lines of bowmen. The first line will fire a wave then drop to a crouch and reload, at this moment, the second will stand up and fire their reloaded arrows. This combined barrage of arrows should help dismay enemy troops and allows a gradual retreat. The line formation can also allow the pincer formation to come into place should their be a change of advantage on the battlefield. Army: Training: Before specific roles within the military force is assigned, all men undergo extensive training lasting roughly 7 weeks. This includes extensive running and training to build fighting mentality and moral and unite the men to work together. All are also briefed on fighting tactics and trained to ensure they are capable. After 4 weeks, men are able to choose what role they seek, in the case of a overwhelment of men for a specific role, people will be transfered alphabetically. Men will then recieve training on their chosen role and the weapons associated aswell as tactics involving this. Leadership: All 3 unit sections were led by a captain. These captain's were recognisable by their white cape and impressive helmet which has metal extensions featuring a feathers and a soft nilon covering up to their nose so only their eyes are visible. All 3 captains had the weaponary of their unit, but the Pikemen and Archer captains also had swords and the Pikemen's pike had a small flag of Asaea before the metal tip. These captains would communiation with eachother Markus to control tactics. Attacking: 3950 Swordsmen - Steel Short Sword, Mutli-layered Wood and Metal Tower Shields 3000 Pikemen - Wooden Pike with Metal Tip, Mutli-layered Wood and Metal Tower Shields 300 Bowmen/Archers - Wooden and Metal Bow and Arrow, Steel Short Sword 10 Wheeled Trebuchets with 5 Crew members per machine which are also trained swordsmen with Steel Short Swords, the ammo consists of heavy rocks, crews are instructed to look for weaknesses in enemy structure should this be the target or unless they have different orders or enemy siege machines have been sighted in which case they are the priority. The all siege machines utilise simoultanious wave fire. Defender Symbol = |-| General = *Weapons: **Long Range: Composite Recurve Bow with poisoned armor-piercing arrows **Polearm: Halberd (axe head opposite a slotted dismounting hook; shaft ends in a pike). **Main-hand: Talwar **Off-hand: short axe (2 ft handle) *Armor: Riveted Plated Mail Will accept Single Combat requests if losing or confident of a win in combat; will not accept if the enemy is nearly routed. |-| Army = Defending Siege Countermeasures *All units wear riveted plated mail. *4 Scorpion Ballistae firing steel bolts, Greek Fire jar tipped bolts, disease jar tipped bolts, or heads impaled on wooden stakes **4 men per Ballista **Secondary weapons: Pata-style Shortsword and Jamadhar-style Katar. *4 Greek Fire throwing teams (in jars) **3 men per team **Secondary weapons:Pata-style Shortsword and Jamadhar-style Katar. *2 15-inch Canons firing Grapeshot, iron balls, Canister Shot, or bits of scrap metal. **4 people per cannon **Secondary weapons: Aspis and Xyston *2 Farming units **30 people per unit **Secondary weapons: Pata-style Shortsword and Jamadhar-style Katar. Infantry *Organized into brigades of 2500 men, then into divisions of 500, then squads of 20. *5000 Infantrymen wearing riveted plated mail & Barbute **Specialized weapon: short spear & buckler **Secondary Weapon: axe and buckler *250 squad leaders wearing laminar over leather & Barbute **Specialized weapon: short Axe and spiked, plated Targe **Secondary weapon: Swordbreaker and spiked, plated targe *10 division leaders wearing lamellar over chainmail **Specialized weapon: Swordbreaker and buckler **Secondary Weapon: Broadsword and Buckler *2 brigade leaders wearing Chihal'Ta Hazar Masha (Coat of 10,000 Nails) over leather & Barbute **Specialized Weapon: Broadsword and Dagger **Secondary Weapon: Kopis and Dagger *1 overall leader wearing a metal breastplate over plated chainmail and Barbute **Specialized weapon: Kopis & plated targe **Secondary weapon: short spear & plated targe Support *4 Wall Marshals wearing full Karuta armour with Zunari Kabuto **Specialized weapon: Wakizashi (carries four or five) **Secondary Weapon: Kozuka *Reserve; Organized into divisions of 500 men, further divided into squads with 20 men each. **1000 Reserve Members wearing Chihal'Ta Hazar Masha (Coat of 10,000 Nails) & Barbute ***Specialized weapon: Kilij and Buckler ***Secondary Weapon: Swordbreaker and buckler **50 squad leaders wearing Chihal'Ta Hazar Masha (Coat of 10,000 Nails) & Bascinet ***Specialized weapon: Swordbreaker & Buckler ***Secondary weapon: Axe and Buckler **2 Division Leaders wearing Chihal'Ta Hazar Masha (Coat of 10,000 Nails) with Burgonet ***Specialized Weapon: Axe and Buckler ***Secondary Weapon: Rapier and Buckler **1 Overall Leader wearing Chihal'Ta Hazar Masha (Coat of 10,000 Nails) with ornate Burgonet ***Specialized Weapon: Rapier and Khanjar ***Secondary Weapon: Kilij and Khanjar *869 workers making materials for coutermeasures **Secondary weapon: Pata and Buckler Crossbowmen *Organized into squads of 20 men each, 10 men and 10 loaders. *100 Crossbowmen wearing Riveted plated mail & Barbute: **Specialized Weapon: Arbalest Crossbow **Secondary Weapon: Axe and Buckler *100 Loaders wearing Riveted plated mail & Barbute: **Specialized Weapon: Arbalest Crossbow **Secondary Weapon: Axe and Buckler *10 Squad Commanders wearing Laminar Armor & Barbute: **Specialized Weapon: Arbalest Crossbow **Secondary Weapon: Spatha and Buckler *1 Crossbow Commander wearing Riveted Plated Chainmail: **Specialized Weapon: Arbalest Crossbow **Secondary Weapon: Khanjar and Buckler Tactics *Harrass attackers with Crossbow Volleys *Attempt precision attacks on command center(s) with Scorpion *Use Greek Fire arrows at night to throw camps into chaos **Try to target cooks, supplies, medical tents, etc. *When POWs or enemy dead are captured, send heads back on bolts after interrogation interspersed with diseased bolts *Wall Marshals are given command of each wall *Have Greek Fire jar throwers hit battering rams, belfries, enemies, etc. *Canons are used during massed attacks *Also used during breakthroughs to make halls a killing field *Stringent anti-infiltration measures. *All orders are written in code. Redundant messengers are used to ensure order reaches the officers. X-Factors These X-Factors are created by taking averages from the X-Factor evaluation blog, rounded to the nearest number. I did not choose them. There is no bias. Victory Conditions Attacker= *Overrun castle *Force defender to surrender *Win Single Combat |-| Defender= *Force attacker to surrender *Annihilate attacker *Survive for 4 months *Win Single Combat |-|Tie= *One side meets the victory conditions but loses their general *Both sides lose their general. Notes Battle = *Any siege weapons without a crew cannot be used *Area is as follows: **A square, stone fort with a tower at each corner and one in the center. It is on a hill, but has no other natural barriers. Castle is 100 m x 100 m x 125 m. Towers have a 10 m radius and are 150 m tall. The fighting is mostly close-quarters in small areas within the castle. |-|Voting = In order for a vote to count as full, it must contain an analysis of the victory or tie conditions and which - if any - the armies can meet. A paragraph or two with at least 10 relevant sentences can be substituted for a full vote. A paragraph or two with 5 relevant sentences will count as a half vote. All others will not count. |-| General's Kit = *Includes: **A telescope / looking glass for his personal use and others for the commanders **Several maps of the area **Locations of friendly supply lines **Various support personnel: a quartermaster corps, cooking corps, medical corps, and religious services Battle 0 Months, 0 Days, 18 Hours. Commander Markus Thaowan is in his tent, drafting orders furiously. He’d taken a look out at the fort using his spyglass, and recognized the enemy commander doing the same. He isn’t all too happy about his opponent; Lloyd Kumar isn’t a Great Captain for no reason. But the same applies to me, he thought, It comes down to who is the most prepared. He thinks he’s done so, but all the Great Captains have one thing in common: you never saw their strategy before it was too late. He had finished laying down his overall plan for this battle, but he still needed to comb his tactical knowledge to counter anything he thinks Lloyd might throw at him. Markus gets up and walks to the mess tent, intending to have a large meal and to procure a large quantity of tea. It would be a long night, and he needed every ounce of energy he could muster. “Oh bloody fucking hell,” Lloyd says. He is standing on the fort’s battlements, looking out over the battlefield with his spyglass. “That’s an Asaean flag.” And Asea means Markus. He’s facing another Great Captain on the field. Bloody wonderful, he thought, I have a long night ahead of me. Lloyd sighed. “I hate going against other great captains,” he says, talking to no one in particular. “We all know each other. By reputation, if not in person. So it means either I die or a man I respect does.” He lowers his spyglass, nods at his guards, and walks down to the mess hall. “Oh, and can one of you send a messenger to the quartermaster? I’m going to need a bottle… no, a cask. A rundlet cask of Pinot Noir, delivered to my room. And if he doesn’t have that, then another red will do, as long as it’s dark. The wine helps me think.” 1 Month, 15 Days, 15 Hours. Markus Thaowan walked around his camp, skirting around the areas where his foe had launched Greek Fire. It seemed that Lloyd was forgoing the grand stratagems this time around and just holding still while his ballistae killed everyone off. They had seen Greek Fire before, though, and knew how to deal with it. The major problem was the bolts with diseases. His medical staff is well-trained, but those bolts came in an alarming volume. He’d figured out their firing pattern by now, and it was a chillingly effective one. They would hit the front ranks with the Greek Fire, and use the light from the blazes to hit farther back with the diseased bolts. There was only so much the medical staff could do, but it was enough for now. More worrying was the fact that the disease bolts also discouraged defections, drying up his information sources. He’d ordered his trebuchets to target the ballistae as much as possible the previous night, though he knows it may be a long shot. Lloyd walks around one of the tower battlements, grimacing. The ballista that was stationed here is completely wrecked. It’s such a mess that they’d have to torch the wood to be able to move anything else up here, and that’s not even counting the gigantic stone hurled by one of his foe’s trebuchets. Well, they’d have to make due with half the volume of fire. And if that ballista was taken down, he had a backup plan. Not a very good one, to be certain, but backup plans rarely are. He turns and heads back to his quarters. He has planning to do, and he still had a great deal of that wine cask left. 2 Months, 30 Days, 17 Hours. Markus Thaowan walked back to his tent in relief, trailed by his three captains. His trebuchet operators had informed him that they had taken out the other ballista threatening his men two nights ago. Lloyd likely had other ballistae in the other towers, but the lack of bolts last night indicated that he could either not move them or didn’t want to. Markus hoped that it was the former, but expected it was the latter. Walking over to the map he had laid out on the table, he turned to his captains. “Well, since we now seem to have a slight reprieve, here’s what we’re going to do. We’ll give the men some time to recuperate – after all, these past few months have not been easy on them. However, once the men are ready, we will launch an assault on the enemy fort. We’ll break down a wall with the trebuchet, and then storm in.” Lloyd stalks to his quarters, trailed by all four of his Wall Marshalls. The second ballista facing the enemy was taken down two nights before, and they had only just finished burning everything in that area. Thaowan’s men were either very good or very lucky. Knowing the man by reputation, Lloyd suspected the former. Lloyd takes out five wine glasses, and fills each from the cask. He passes four out to his Wall Marshalls, and takes a sip from the fifth before using to weigh down one corner of his map. “Our best bet right now is to force them to breach where we want them to.” “Sir, isn’t it best if they don’t breach at all?” “We’ve only just gotten the rubble from the first tower cleared, and moving the other ballista up would take too long. No, we have to try and use this to our advantage. While the ballistae were firing, the number of desertions went from few to none. I expect they’ll rise slightly now that they’re inactive. “I want you to give the impression that the towers the ballistae were on are going to be abandoned. However, move the quarters of our fire jar throwers and their stockpiles towards the center of that wall. Do the same with the cannons. With any luck, the deserters will tell Markus that the towers are ripe for attack. I’m going to gamble that he’ll focus fire on only one tower; the man’s excellent at coordinating his trebuchets, so it’s a good bet.” “Didn’t figure you for a betting man, general.” “I’m not. I don’t see any other viable choice, though. We need to work double time to get the second tower cleared, so have our crossbowmen delay Markus’ strike. When you catch wind of the trebuchets, come to my quarters immediately. We’ll need to do some quick planning before he breaks in.” 3 Months, 31 Days, 18 Hours. Markus Thaowan rode out to his staging area. His men were healthy again, and he hadn’t lost too many. The deserters indicated that Lloyd was taking the men from the ballista towers and using them to reinforce other areas, leaving the towers open to a counterattack. He raised his pike, giving the signal for the trebuchets to start firing. His men started forming up at the staging area – close enough to the target area that they could charge quickly, but not so close that they could get crushed by friendly fire. Markus sees the wall taking a pounding from the unrelenting force of rocks, and as it falls he gives the second signal for his men to hold position. He allows the trebuchets to fire a couple more rocks before signaling them to stop. He advanced his men, moving forward into the breached tower. Lloyd is in his quarters with his Wall Marshalls, hearing stone after stone hit one of the towers he abandoned. Markus has taken the bait, but now he needs to make sure the hook hurts. “Kal, Ghib, the tower intersects your walls. Take one cannon each and use it to set up a field of fire at the breach – use the angular hallway, position the cannons just far enough from the breach point to be safe, to make an area where there’s crossfire. Use canister shot while you have it, and grapeshot when you don’t. Also take all of the Greek Fire-throwing teams and station them on the top of that tower. Have them lay low until Markus starts bringing his men up. Pelt them with the jars; we’re low on them, unfortunately. Have just enough people at the cannons to defend them, with the rest of your troops stationed at our choke points.” A loud crash resounds in the distance. “Damn. That was quicker than I expected. Well, since you two have your orders go. “Now, Kell, Wayne, I want you two to leave a skeleton crew on your walls – we can’t discount Markus striking from elsewhere. Use the rest and set up choke points. Heard them to the mess hall. Have the crossbowmen there firing three waves, and have the rest of the men cut them off. Go.” His orders given, he buckles on his own weapons, heading to the mess hall. He hoped that the orders he’d given would do their job, but if they didn’t… He grabbed a small canteen with some wine in it. He may have to do some last-minute planning, after all. Markus Thaowan marches through the hallways of the enemy fort. As his men entered, they were pelted by jars of Greek Fire. Those who put their shields over their heads to block it were ripe targets for the cannons hiding just within. Once the jars ran out, and once they overran the defenders, they proceeded, finding many routes blocked off. Enemy troops waited at the choke points, and they were lead into the mess hall, where crossbowmen put a dent in his lines with bolts, before the rest of the fort’s garrison broke into a melee. Markus charged into the thick of it with his pike, stabbing at his opponents. He made his way to the center, and skewered one of Lloyd’s men before entering a small space where neither army had fought in. Opposite him, one of his captains jerked and was slammed out of the way. A man stepped in – one he could not fail to recognize. “Markus,” the man said, by way of greeting, raising his halberd in a salute “Lloyd.” Markus returned the gesture with his pike. “It’s been an honor crossing armies.” “It will be even more of one to cross blades.” “We think far too much alike.” Lloyd crouches and readies his halberd, pointing the spike at Markus. Markus himself enters a combat stance with his pike. Lloyd thrusts with the spike on his halberd, and Markus parries with the shaft of his pike. Both draw back into a ready stance, and circle each other. They occasionally make small jabs, trying to test and gauge their opponent. The battle rages around them, while they wait for an opening. Two of Lloyd’s soldiers try to make a name for themselves and attempt to flank Markus. He spins to the right, spearing one in the throat, and uses the butt spike on his pike to impale his second assailant. He turns back to Lloyd, just in time to see him striking in an overhand chop with his halberd. Markus has just enough time to twist out of the way and retaliate. Lloyd dodges the blow, and they continue trying to force an opening. Two of Markus’s soldiers also try to get on a fast track for promotion and attack Lloyd. He crouches under a strike and swings the dismounting hook on his halberd in a short arc and pierces the armor of one soldier. Pivoting, he then brings the axehead up to chop into the second attacker’s helmet, the slots in the dismounting hook trailing entrails. Seeing movement in the corner of his eye, he barely manages to dodge Markus’s pike thrust. Using his momentum, he brings his halberd down in a chop, and splinters Markus’s pike. Markus backpedals, trying to open up some space. He draws his shortsword from its sheath and unlimbers his shield, blocking a blow from another soldier trying to win fame. He parries the strike of the second soldier, and stabs him in the neck. Turning, he bashes the second soldier with his kite shield, following up with a stab to the face, and turns to face his foe. Lloyd seizes his range advantage, and attacks with small, sweeping chops with the axe of his halberd, often followed by a stab with the pike tip, keeping Markus back until an opening presents itself. Markus then steps forward, using his shield to deflect one of Lloyd’s stabs. Keeping the pressure on the polearm, he charges forward to stab the now-vulnerable general. Lloyd quickly drops the halberd and dodges out of the way of Markus’ attack. He draws his talwar, using the motion to slice into one of Markus’s soldiers. He uses the pommel to knock another down while drawing his axe, which he then uses to chop into the soldier’s neck. Lloyd turns and faces Markus, who has taken a defensive stance with his shield. Lloyd once again drops into a crouch. Markus charges forward, taking advantage of his superior defense. Lloyd manages to dodge his strikes, but his mobility doesn’t help him land any, either. He eventually lands a kick on his foe’s shield, pushing his foe back to try and get some breathing room. Immediately, he is set upon by Markus’s two remaining captains, each using a steel shortsword. He ducks under one strike, and catches the other in his axe, twisting it quickly and snapping the blade. He pivots and hamstrings his other opponent, and rises into a kick that breaks his opponent’s nose. He turns again and slices through the throat of the captain with a broken sword, and brings his axe up into the face of the hamstringed captain. He turns and faces his opponent, and sees that Markus has dropped all four of his Wall Marshalls. Lloyd takes a quick sip from his flask while Markus closes the distance between them. Lloyd sidesteps Markus’s charge, and kicks him in the face. Stunned, Markus reels backwards and gets decapitated by Lloyd’s axe. Lloyd rallies his troops, and they push the now-leaderless attackers into a rout. Markus’s forces are driven out of the castle and surrender. A brief flash of light returns both generals to the waiting room. End of Siege Statistics: Siege Time: 3 Months, 31 Days, 23 Hours, 50 Minutes *Total Losses: 13,689 **Lloyd: 6,750 **Markus: 6,939 Category:Blog posts